LGBT Issues

16 April 2010

On Thursday, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum that extends rights of hospital visitation to same-sex partners of gays, and directs respect for their choice of an advocate to make medical care decisions for them.

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

SUBJECT: Respecting the Rights of Hospital Patients to Receive Visitors and to Designate Surrogate Decision Makers for Medical Emergencies

26 August 2009

TRANSCRIPT of Kennedy speech at the 2008 National Democratic Convention in Denver, Colorado.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy:

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Caroline.

My fellow Democrats, my fellow Americans, it is so wonderful to be here.

And nothing - nothing is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight.I have come here tonight to stand with you to change America, to restore its future, to rise to our best ideals, and to elect Barack Obama president of the United States.

As I look ahead, I am strengthened by family and friendship. So many of you have been with me in the happiest days and the hardest days. Together we have known success and seen setbacks, victory and defeat.

But we have never lost our belief that we are all called to a better country and a newer world. And I pledge to you - I pledge to you that I will be there next January on the floor of the United States Senate when we begin the great test.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

For me this is a season of hope - new hope for a justice and fair prosperity for the many, and not just for the few - new hope.

And this is the cause of my life - new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American - north, south, east, west, young, old - will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.

We can meet these challenges with Barack Obama. Yes, we can, and finally, yes, we will.Barack Obama will close the book on the old politics of race and gender and group against group and straight against gay.And Barack Obama will be a commander in chief who understands that young Americans in uniform must never be committed to a mistake, but always for a mission worthy of their bravery.

We are told that Barack Obama believes too much in an America of high principle and bold endeavor, but when John Kennedy called of going to the moon, he didn’t say it’s too far to get there. We shouldn’t even try.

Our people answered his call and rose to the challenge, and today an American flag still marks the surface of the moon.

Yes, we are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. And we can do it again.

There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination — not merely victory for our party, but renewal for our nation.

And this November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans, so with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on.

10 April 2009

Okay. I am supposed to be working on my taxes right now, due to my BAD BAD BAD habit of procrastination, but I couldn’t resist stopping to check out the news reports on the latest folly wrought by the GOP. I did a search and came up with a variety of articles, but in all honesty, the two videos posted below really say it all . Well, almost all. A few points to keep in mind.

Our forefathers protested taxation without representation.

The teabagging GOP is protesting a return to the tax tables of the Clinton years, which means that 95% of American taxpayers will receive a tax cut.

As a fiscal conservative who actually believed in those principles when the Republicans were in power, I guess I should be happy at this phenomenon. And I would be if it had any intellectual honesty, any positive proposals, and any recognizable point. What it looks like to me is some kind of amorphous, generalized rage on the part of those who were used to running the country and now don't feel part of the culture at all. But the only word for that is: tantrum.

These are not tea-parties. They are tea-tantrums. And the adolescent, unserious hysteria is a function not of a movement regrouping and refinding itself. It's a function of a movement's intellectual collapse and a party's fast-accelerating nervous breakdown.

This whole thing just screams “we are the uncoolest losers in the world” and “we have no clue what the fuck we are doing” and “we are complete and utter assholes”. *sigh* Back to my taxes…….

UPDATE:As if the teabagging thing is not funny enough, the religious right nutjobs have named their anti-gay anti-marriage campaign after a gay sex acronym/call-sign, 2M4M (M4M=male seeking male 4 relationships/sex in personal ads, and is also the name given to online gay chat rooms).

UPDATE: “Before any media covering these events accept the idea that this is just a grass roots outpouring of populist sentiment, they ought to take a look behind the curtain -- where Dick Armey is laughing and counting his cash.” source

08 April 2009

|President Obama spent two days in Turkey, before ending his trip with an unannounced visit to the troops in Iraq, bringing the war back to the forefront of the news again. In Turkey, Obama reached out to Muslims, telling them;

. “One of the great strengths of the United States is ... we have a;very large Christian population -- we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.”

“The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam,” Obama declared, adding that America's relationship with the Muslim world “cannot, and will not, just be based upon opposition to terrorism. We seek broader engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”

“Under enormous strain and under enormous sacrifice, through controversy and difficulty and politics, you have kept your eyes focused on just doing your job and because of that, every mission that has been assigned from getting rid of Saddam to reducing violence, to stabilising the country, to facilitating elections, you have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country.”

06 April 2009

Friday, April 3 – Sunday, April 5, 2009

| For 18 years, in a practice begun by George H.W. Bush, the government has banned the media from providing coverage of returning war dead. At President Obama’s request, the Pentagon has now lifted the ban, although permission from the service member’s family is required. “The arrival of the remains of Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Myers, a 30-year-old supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, at Dover Air Force Base at 11 p.m. today[ipd note: Sunday, Apr. 5] marked the first time that the transfer of any of the nearly 5,000 U.S. troops who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan was open to the media. The transfer of the flag-draped casket was carried out with great dignity, for the seven family members present.” sourceAP/Reuters photo __________________________

18 January 2009

A host of entertainers, including Beyonce, Usher, Garth Brooks, Mary J. Blige, Bruce Springsteen, and others, played a concert at the Lincoln Memorial today, to a crowd estimated to number over 500,000.

Obama's speech, as his speeches ever are, was inspirational and memorable, and I am so proud that he will be our President, the man who represents all of us in the eyes of the world. A memorable, proud time indeed.

The full text of Barack Obama's speech at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, as prepared for delivery:

“I want to thank all the speakers and performers for reminding us, through song and through words, just what it is that we love about America. And I want to thank all of you for braving the cold and the crowds and traveling in some cases thousands of miles to join us here today. Welcome to Washington, and welcome to this celebration of American renewal.

15 January 2009

:: Senate votes 52-42 to release the remaining TARP funds to Obama.

“WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama’s economic agenda advanced rapidly in Congress on Thursday as the Senate voted to release the second half of the financial industry bailout fund and House Democrats unveiled an $825 billion fiscal recovery plan aimed at putting millions of unemployed Americans back to work.The Senate action, by a vote of 52 to 42, spares Mr. Obama a messy legislative fight just as he takes office and gives him a $350 billion war chest to further stabilize the financial sector.”Source:NYT

__________________________

:: Palin, the deeply ugly twit, snubs Obama. Be sure to read the Mother Jones article.I am working on a new article re Sarah Palin, that covers this, as well as all the other stuff going on around her now. It will also include the post that I once retracted on Inspire Emotion, titled "Sarah Palin to Friends - "So Sambo beat the bitch!"". Why? I do not want to have to deal with this woman in 2010, 2012, or any other year. We need to defeat her NOW.

“On the night before Barack Obama is sworn in as the nation's 44th President, his inaugural committee will host a series of dinners honoring public servants it deems champions of bipartisanship. To be feted are Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Colin Powell, and John McCain, whom Obama vanquished last November. At the McCain dinner, the GOP senator, who managed to suppress his bipartisan tendencies during the hard-fought 2008 campaign, will be introduced by one of his closest Senate confidants: Senator Lindsey Graham. But McCain's No. 1 booster during the last year will not be among those hailing McCain. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, his controversial running-mate, will not attend the dinner, Bill McAllister, a Palin spokesman tells Mother Jones.”Source:Mother Jones

14 January 2009

:: Obama stands by Geithner today.

At a press availability today, Obama made it clear that he was behind Geithner. From the pool report, via Politico (bolding is mine-note the support from Sen. Graham):

"Tim Geithner, when I nominated him, was rightly lauded by people from both sides of the aisle … as somebody who was uniquely qualified" to handle the economy, he said.

"Is this an embarrassment for him, yes. He said so himself," Obama said.

Obama said it wasn’t an intentional mistake, and one that is common for people who work for international institutions, and "It has been corrected."

He repeated his mantra that if were his standard for cabinet secretaries, vice presidents, or (oddly) reporters that a person hadn't made "a mistake in your life," no one would be qualified.

Here [Senator Lindsey] Graham jumped in with some bipartisan support. "Now's not the time to think in small political terms," Graham advised. "I think he's the right guy."

__________________________

:: On change.gov, Robert Gibbs answers a question as to whether Obama will end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gays in the military.And the answer is a qualified "yes".

““So not everything will get done in the beginning but he’s committed to following through” with ending the policy against being openly gay in the military.”Source:Think Progress

__________________________

:: U.S. District judge orders Bush administration to turn over emails. I have never understood why Congress tolerated the crimes of the Bush administration with rarely a protest. What was probably the mass deletion of emails relevant to the Iraq war intelligence, and the Valerie Plame affair, should never have happened, and yet Congress did little or nothing to prevent it or to remedy it.

“The issue first surfaced three years ago during the investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's identity.Wednesday's order by U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy directs the Executive Office of the President to issue a notice to employees to surrender any e-mails from March 2003 to October 2005.That period includes the start of the war in Iraq and the first two years of the probe into the leak by top White House aides of the identity of Valerie Plame, wife of Bush administration war critic Joe Wilson.The White House said it has made great progress in accounting for e-mail messages. A spokesman declined further comment.”Source:HUFFPOST

__________________________

:: Bin Laden issued a challenge to Obama in an audiotape posted on Wednesday on Islamic militant sites.

“Bin Laden spoke in an audiotape posted Wednesday on Islamic militant Web sites where al-Qaida usually issues its messages. It was his first tape since May and came nearly three weeks after Israel started its campaign against Gaza's militant Hamas rulers.The al-Qaida leader also vowed that the terror network would open "new fronts" against the United States and its allies beyond Iraq and Afghanistan. He said President-elect Barack Obama has received a "heavy inheritance" from George W. Bush _ two wars and "the collapse of the economy," which he said will render the United States unable to sustain a long fight against the mujahedeen, or holy warriors."There is only one strong way to bring the return of Al-Aqsa and Palestine, and that is jihad in the path of God," bin Laden said in the 22-minute audiotape, referring to the revered Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. "The duty is to urge people to jihad and to enlist the youth into jihad brigades."”Source:HUFFPOST

__________________________:: Hillary Clinton expected to be confirmed as the Secretary of State on Tuesday.Her daylong testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was touted as impressive, and she is expected to be swiftly confirmed.

“The top Republican on the panel, Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, was among those who expressed disappointment over Mrs. Clinton’s refusal to accept further restrictions on her husband’s fund-raising. But he told Mrs. Clinton that he still intended to vote in favor of her confirmation. “Your qualifications are remarkable,” he said.”Source:NYT

__________________________:: Former GOP aide busted scalping inaugural tickets. It wasn't illegal.......but it is now in the process of being criminalized by the Senate (bill already passed), and now it just needs the House to pass it.

“The former aide is Gina Santucci, who now works as associate general counsel at BGR Holding, the lobbying, public relations and financial advisory firm formerly known as Barbour Griffith & Rogers, founded by current Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and veteran GOP political strategist Ed Rogers.”Source:Washington Post

__________________________:: Obama dined with the neocons last night.

No need to throw things...he dined with the GOP's intellectual elite, working on finishing off the job that the GOP started. I would guess that within months, at least a few high profile neocons will change party affiliation. There is however, some speculation that Limbaugh might have been there. In that case, all bets are OFF the table, Obama!

“Columnist George Will hosted the president-elect and at least two other prominent conservative pundits at his Maryland home Tuesday night. The pool reporter on the scene has confirmed that New York Times columnists David Brooks and Bill Kristol at the dinner, but was apparently unable to spot any other guests.”Source:Salon.com

“Tonight around 6:30 pm ET, Barack Obama arrived at the home of conservative columnist George Will to dine with a host of right-wing luminaries.”Source:Think Progress

Image by New York Daily News reporter, Kenneth Bazinet.__________________________:: A Republican DOJ official lied to Congress and investigators. Hmmm.....how many of those (lying Republicans working for Bush)does this make now?

“Tuesday's report is the latest of several inquiries that found senior Justice Department officials violated civil service laws under the tenure of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.Gonzales has denied knowledge of the conduct by his deputies, but the series of reports paints a disturbing portrait of the nation's top law enforcement agency being pulled in a sharply political direction during the Bush administration.”Source:HUFFPOST

12 January 2009

:: Bush43 to give farewell speech during primetime on Thursday night. Um, I personally have no need to watch him say goodbye. I can't imagine that most of us have.

“WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush will give a farewell address to the nation Thursday night, billed by the administration as a chance to reflect on his tenure and welcome Barack Obama without fighting old battles one last time.Bush will deliver the speech, expected to run 10 to 15 minutes, from the ornate East Room of the White House. He will have a small audience of people in the room, chosen for their stories of personal courage.”Source:AP

__________________________:: Roland Burris to be seated as the junior senator from Illinois.

Senate Dems said that they expect to seat Burris this week.

“"He is now the senator-designate from Illinois and, as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a senator-elect," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said in a joint statement.”Source:HUFFPOST

21 December 2008

In a lawsuit filed by the leaders of the anti-civil rights group responsible for Prop 8, and representing the evangelicals, the Mormons, and all those well-meaning demented religious fanatics who think that they must have the ability to regulate the lives of us all, have "commanded", yes, the language used was "COMMANDED" the California courts to "bow" to the will of the people, and nullify 18,000 marriages.

“The idea that civil rights can be stripped by a simple majority plebescite is not just unethical, but actually violates the principles on which our system of government is based. First off, it is unconstitutional to pass laws that deprive citizens of rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution (e.g., equal protection), a basic point the Prop 8 folks do not seem to get. Second, the purpose of the judiciary is to uphold the Constitution as form of systemic balance to the other two branches of government--not to bow down to them.

The language of the 'Yes To 8' brief suggests that group see itself in a moral struggle not just to strip gay people of rights, but to mobilize public against the California judiciary.

Time will tell which effort will hold the day. However, I suspect there are few judges in California (or anywhere else) who respond well when lawyers 'command' them to 'bow' down. Come to think of it, nobody responds well. And when you think about it, that really is the point of this whole Prop 8 nonsense, is it not? Try to strip American citizens of their equal rights, and when that does not work: raise a bloody stink about the supposed despotic decline of the United States judicial system.”

Meanwhile, California attorney general, and former governor, Jerry Brown, has filed a lawsuit claiming that Prop 8 is in violation of the civil rights of "a classification of people". Hey, we told you that in November! Below, quoting myself from my original article.

“This being the case, Prop 8 is not a matter of legitimate policy. It is a law which revokes the federally guaranteed civil rights of a classification of people, and is thus unconstitutional, and would not hold up to a review by the Supreme Court.”

“Proposition 8 must be invalidated because the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification.”

And indeed, both Brown and I are right. My question is, when he wins his lawsuit, how enraged will these prop 8 purveyors be? Ah, ever helpful, I have some suggestions for the inimitable purveyors of hate. Got any of your own? Tell me in a comment.

19 December 2008

As a progressive who strongly supports civil rights for all citizens, including those in the gay community, I was disheartened and angered when I read that President-elect Obama had chosen Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration.

While I believe that I understand his intent, I disagree with it. And just because he is a democrat does not mean that I will not speak out when I believe that he is wrong.

Obama's "talking points" (fabricated by myself, and only an opinion) and my responses:

PEBO is modeling "tolerance".

Oh, please.Why should one be tolerant of someone who is intolerant? I have zero interest in being tolerant of a viewpoint which refuses to recognize a woman's right to choose, which does not afford the same civil rights to gays as to any other citizen, and which feeds on divisiveness.

PEBO is practicing inclusion.

Inclusiveness is all well and good, however, inclusiveness of a man who is himself not inclusive, who does not support the civil rights of the gay community, indeed, who has been active in the "ex-gay" movement, a movement which simply ignores all scientific evidence that sexuality is not a choice, is unconscionable in my eyes.

Just my two cents which I posted in the discussion on change.gov. Be sure to make your voice heard also. The site is having problems with heavy traffic, so check back if you get an error page.

EDIT: They began a new discussion after 5,000+ rick warren comments swamped the service discussion. :)

03 December 2008

►John Brennan forced out of consideration for CIA director by the Obama team, thanks in large part to liberal bloggers.

“Former CIA official John Brennan, once considered the top choice to serve as CIA director in President-elect Barack Obama's administration, was pressured by the Obama transition team to pull his name from consideration, according to friends and former intelligence associates. Brennan's withdrawal, offered in a Nov. 25 letter to Obama, came after liberal bloggers mounted an opposition campaign against his possible appointment.” NPR

►Wingnut Alert: Senate leadership to craft legislation that will clear the wingnut hurdle to Hillary Clinton's appointment as Secretary of State. Bolding is mine.

“the Senate leadership is working to craft legislation that will make it possible for her to take the post despite a Constitutional clause saying that members of Congress are ineligible to take an appointed post if the salary for the post in question has increased while the member was in elected office.

The Senate's efforts, which would cut the Secretary of State's salary back to what it was when Hillary was reelected to her current term, come in response to a declaration yesterday by the winger group Judicial Watch that the Constitution blocks her from serving.” TPM

02 December 2008

►New documents from the Nixon White House were released today, and they depict a strong internal struggle over the Viet Nam war.

“WASHINGTON — Documents released Tuesday from Richard M. Nixon's White House years shed new light on just how much the government struggled with growing public unrest over the protracted war in Vietnam. The National Archives opened nearly 200 hours of White House tape recordings and 90,000 pages of documents”HUFFPO

01 December 2008

While most of us are familiar with Proposition 8, the amendment to the California constitution which served to prohibit the marriage of same-sex couples in that state, we never really heard much about another similar ballot initiative, Amendment 2 in Florida, which sought to accomplish the same objective by amending the Florida constitution, and which also passed.

The passage of Amendment 2 in Florida did not generate the furor that Prop 8 did in the aftermath of it's passage, though it should have, as it also accomplished the same feat of the constitutional denial of a civil right to a particular segment of society.

In any case, a gay rights group in Florida, known as Impact-Florida, has planned a protest designed to draw attention to this denial of civil rights. They are going to protest outside of the wedding of Governor Charlie Crist on December 12, in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“The group Impact-Florida has called on its members to gather in pink T-shirts outside First United Methodist Church of St. Petersburg on Dec.12 to "congratulate" Crist and Rome while their wedding takes place inside. The demonstration will continue outside the wedding reception at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort in downtown St. Petersburg.

"After the positive congratulatory observance, there will be a candlelight vigil close to the [Vinoy] in downtown St. Pete to mourn the loss of gays right to get married," the group's Web site states, referring to a gay marriage ban that passed by ballot initiative in November..” The Suncoast News

If you are in the area, plan on attending to help this group make a statement. Amendment 2, like proposition 8, is in my opinion, illegal because it is unconstitutional. Go Impact-Florida!

12 November 2008

"Prop 8 is simply democracy at work." That comment was posted on a forum, and as is obvious to most, it is far too simplistic.

We live in a constitutional democracy, with a constitution that guarantees certain fundamental civil rights/freedoms. In California, there is a constitutional right to marry. On the Federal level, the US constitution assures us the right to equal protection under the law. Additionally, every single state in the union has a constitution which also guarantees this right to equal protection under the law.

Thus, marriage equality is a civil right, and may only be abridged by changes to the Federal constitution. States may not revoke a freedom as it is provided under the tenets of the US Constitution. Only the Supreme Court may do that, and only if they change the US Constitution.

This being the case, Prop 8 is not a matter of legitimate policy. It is a law which revokes the federally guaranteed civil rights of a classification of people, and is thus unconstitutional, and would not hold up to a review by the Supreme Court.

Now, the Supreme Court can revise that part of the constitution [14th Amendment] in order to make Prop 8 and similar laws legitimate. We could then discriminate against other classes of people as well. For instance, we could ban any specific group from marrying --- religious freaks, for example. Unfair? Sure. But so is preventing same-sex marriage, and as they say, "you reap what you sow".

Consider long and hard the next time you vote in favor of a law which seeks to abridge and deny a fundamental civil right.

Your own liberty is also at stake.

Props to cabieri (a Republican who voted for Obama) who inspired me to clarify my thoughts on this matter.

11 November 2008

I've been intending to write a couple of posts about the passage of Prop 8. Fortuitously, today I ran across this video, and whether you love Olbermann or frequently fantasize about stabbing him with a rusty knife, this video will touch your heart. He said it so well, I cried.

The saddest thing of all is that so many people feel it necessary to virtually spit on love, as if it is an overrated commodity. It is not, and denying it to another person because of your own beliefs is seriously twisted.. It is wrong on so many levels, and I am still in disbelief that it passed.

As a country we patted ourselves on the back for electing an African-American president, and thereby seemingly getting past the racism which had been overwhelmingly prevalent here until the last ten years or so. Why could we not extend that to those with an innately different sexual preference than the majority, so that they too may be legally bound to the person they love?

02 October 2008

"But as for homosexuality, I am not going to judge Americans and the decisions that they make in their adult personal relationships. I have one of my absolute best friends for the last 30 years happens to be gay, and I love her dearly. And she is not my 'gay friend,' she is one of my best friends, who happens to have made a choice that isn't a choice that I have made. But I am not going to judge people."

Gov. Palin, a choice is between Coke or Pepsi, Cher or Celine, Yuengling or Budweiser, Jimmy Choos or Manolos. Not whether to be gay or straight.

No one would choose to put their careers on the line. "Of our over 5,000 Legal Help Desk calls in 2007, 78 percent (2,778) were sexual orientation discrimination," says Lisa Hardaway, media relations director of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. "Of the sexual orientation discrimination issues, 26 percent (730) were workplace-related." According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, about 12,500 people who were serving their nation with honor have been drummed out of the military since 1994 because they were gay under the nonsensical "don't ask don't tell" policy. At least 59 of them were Arabic linguists who are sorely needed in the war on terror.

No one would choose to be part of a marginalized group whose members have to sue their way to basic rights so that their relationships and their families are respected. Rights, such as hospital visitation and inheritance, that heterosexual couples take for granted. Continue reading here.

19 September 2008

There’s no record that Alaska Governor and Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin uttered anything more than the obligatory complimentary congratulations to the woman that beat her out for the Miss Alaska title in 1984. The winner was Maryline Blackburn, an African-American. A ritual congratulatory wish from Palin would have been about the only public acknowledgement to date from her in an instance, in this case a beauty contest, where Palin was confronted with the issue of diversity in the person of a competitor.Since then, Palin’s record on race and diversity has been the blankest of blank sheets. The probes into Palin’s record on diversity and civil rights have almost exclusively focused on her views on gay rights, gay marriage and equal pay. These are crucial civil rights issues. But so are racial diversity and civil rights. The Web site OntheIssues.org gives a comprehensive look at the positions of elected officials on the major issues based on their statements, speeches, campaign materials and policy position papers. Palin has taken no position on immigration, affirmative action, job and housing discrimination, school re-segregation, police-minority community relations, and racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Continue reading here.